Nominated for Discovery Award
Content Warnings – depiction of eating disorders, substance use and mental illness
Ethan released from jail for throwing a wine bottle off a balcony and Riley released from rehab for an eating disorder, love addiction and suicide attempt, meet and just “click.” They are soulmates. The world makes sense when they take it on together. Doesn’t it?
Fresh out of an eating disorder clinic, Riley meets Ethan at a karaoke bar. Here begins a tender and honest look at what makes us return to the things and people that harm us. The line between new love and new addictions blur for both Riley and Ethan, as co-dependency and old familial wounds threaten to sink the pair of them.
Riley is dismissed and belittled but financially supported by an absent mother. Ethan is his dad’s sober driver, picking him up from bars. The lives of the two protagonists are on pause, as everyone around them grows, moves on. Set in a perpetually autumnal New York City but spanning several years, Parachute shows the seasons of breakups, makeups and friendships.
Despite the heavy subject matter, there is joy and lightness to Parachute. An element of innocence balances the pain wrought by Riley and Ethan’s love for each other. Moments of levity are provided through vignettes of Riley’s life partying in the city or working at a failing murder-mystery themed diner.
The performances are unselfconscious and visceral, particularly that of Courtney Eaton as Riley. Parachute is cathartic and hopeful, a tribute to recovery and our varied and necessary journeys towards it.
A woman in recovery explores what makes us return to the things and people that harm us.
Ali McClary
This film is Triple F Rated.
